CULLMAN — Gaming expansion has long been a contentious issue in the Yellowhammer State, with some supporting the addition of a lottery and casinos, some advocating for a lottery only and others completely against gambling altogether.
In 2024, a gambling expansion package came just one vote shy of passing.
During a public forum last Saturday in Cullman, GOP candidates for House District 12 — Dan McWhorter, Heather Doyle, Clint Hollingsworth and Cindy Myrex — were asked whether they would support allowing the public to vote on a gambling or lottery bill.
"The second plank of my platform is a stand-alone lottery," McWhorter said. "I'm tired of seeing the state of Alabama putting high school students in Tennessee through two years of college. We need a stand-alone lottery bill. If Class 3 gambling is something people want, then they need to vote on it. I will push any legislation through as long as the people of Alabama get a chance to vote on it. Class 3 gambling should be able to stand on its own. The only time I would not go with that bill is if it looks like the Poarch Creek Indians would have a monopoly on casino gambling in Alabama."
Doyle agreed that she'd rather keep the money spent on other states' lotteries in Alabama.
"I would want my people to vote for a lottery before spending that money. We have people driving to Georgia, Tennessee, Florida just to get tickets," Doyle said. "Let's put that money into our state, or let the people decide if they want to keep that money here. It'll benefit our Education Trust Fund, and we can float those dollars into other places, out into the classrooms to support our teachers and have smaller classroom sizes. I mean, 100% yes, I think people should be allowed to vote for a lottery."
Hollingsworth said it would come down to the details of the bill on whether or not he'd support it.
"So you got the lottery and you got the sports betting, and obviously both are controversial," Hollingworth said. "But the devil is always in the details with anything… Ultimately, yes, the people should be able to vote, but they need to know what they're voting on and they need to know what the details are."
Myrex said that though she was opposed to gambling, she'd push forward a bill for the public to vote on if it were lottery-only.
"If I have a clean bill that is strictly for the lottery, I'm going to give it to you to vote on," Myrex said. "My vote is yes, give it to the people to vote on. I don't care for it. I don't care to have it in our state, the state of Alabama. But I'm your representation. If that's what you say you want, we'll give you the opportunity to vote on it and then we'll see where it lands us."
The HD12 special election primary is set for July 15.
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